FIFA 2026: Jordan, Qatar, Iraq and Saudi Arabia eye World Cup breakthrough

As the countdown to the FIFA World Cup 2026 continues, the spotlight is also falling on a host of emerging and resurgent nations eager to leave their mark on football's grandest stage.

In this part of the series, we look at Jordan, Qatar, Iraq and Saudi Arabia: Four Asian teams that reached the expanded 48-team tournament through contrasting paths but share the same ambition of challenging established powers and making a lasting impression in North America.

Jordon
Jordan turned out to be the surprise packet in the AFC qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup. The Arab country will debut in this planet's biggest football competition.

Even its most fierce supporter in Amman would not have given it the odds to emerge as a force and travel to the USA, Canada and Mexico - even if the Asian Continent was given four additional slots in the expanded 48-team event.

However, as it transpired, Jordon, a country that attracts millions of tourists, caught the imagination of the football world, securing a second spot behind South Korea in its AFC group and gaining a direct entry into the tournament draw.

Guided by two Moroccan Managers, Hussein Ammouta and Jamal Sellami, Jordan's fortunes leaped from 2023 and eventually catapulted it to the greatest showpiece of the beautiful game.

Almost a year ago, striker Ali Olwan scored a hat-trick against Oman in Muscat, and when South Korea beat Iraq 2-0, Jordan's confirmed its accomplishment that triggered great scenes in Amman and across the country.

After its consummate 3-0 win against Oman, the players and the Crown Prince saw South Korea score a 2-0 win at the team hotel.

Jordon won four out of the six third stage matches and four in the second stage where it topped the group ahead of Saudi Arabia. During the course of the qualification process, it showed its counter-attacking skills and firepower of its strikers.

Supporters of Jordon had sensed the shape of things to come when Jordon got the better of teams like Iraq and South Korea to reach the AFC Cup playoffs before going down to Qatar in the final.

Then in the FIFA Arab Cup, Jordan reached the final, winning against Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

After qualifying for the World Cup, Jordan has lost five matches to teams like Tunisia, Albania, Bolivia, Morocco and Switzerland.

It will play a warm-up against Colombia before its World Cup matches against Austria, Algeria and the champion team in Argentina. It will fancy its chances against Austria and Algeria and make the round of 32.

Sellami has announced the final squad, which is without a key player in Yazan Al Naimat who ruptured his knee and was ruled out for selection.

However, the team known as Al-Nashama (The Chivalrous Ones) has excellent strikers in Mousa Al-Tamari and Ali Olwan. Otters players who can make an impact are Yazan Al-Arab and Noor Al-Rawabdeh.

Qatar
As a host, it qualified for the 2022 World Cup; in fact made its debut, but was eliminated in the group stage. Very soon, it won the AFC Cup to prove its supremacy in the Asian region.

It underwent a gruelling test to advance to the World Cup final through the playoff round. After comfortable second-stage group matches, Qatar lagged behind Iran, Uzbekistan and United Arab Emirates in the stage three group, but earned a passage to the playoffs, where it won its match 2-1 against the UAE and secured a World Cup spot.

Clearly, Qatar has a long way to match the skills and tactics of several European and American teams.

Qatar has been on a downward trend in the post-qualification matches. It has gone down to

Zimbabwe (FIFA series), Palestine, Tunisia in the Arab Cup, and Ireland (FIFA series), and drew against Syria (Arab Cup). It will play El Salvador in a warm-up before running into the World Cup matches against Switzerland, Canada and Bosnia & Herzegovina.

It played the Netherlands, Ecuador and Senegal four years ago, scored a goal and conceded seven. The team is managed by Spain's Julen Lopetegui, who took charge in 2025.

It will be tough going for him and the team, which has to look for more players other than Akram Afif to get goals.

The former Real Madrid manager Lopetegui will be in a national team dugout for the first time in a World Cup. He is known to be a tactician.

Iraq
The West Asian country earned its place in the World Cup with an inter-confederation playoff match against Bolivia that it won 2-1at the Monterrey Stadium in Mexico. After a 40-year wait, the team gave plenty to cheer for its fans.

It played nineteen matches to get to the pinnacle tournament of football. Coached by Australian Graham Arnold, Iraq will hope to better its 1986 results when it exited after the group stage.

Iraq beat Andorra and held Spain (1-1), and it will play Venezuela in a friendly before the Cup finals matches against Norway, France and Senegal.

These will be tough matches and the odds will be against the Asian nation. Iraq will play with a great heart and flair and try to be competitive against the three teams it has no experience of playing.

It will show a lot of pluck too, having done it, travelling 20 hours by road to Jordan before a 20-hour flight to Mexico for the playoff match against Bolivia.

Around 30000 people backed Iraq at the Monterey Stadium. Coach Arnold believes the crowd in the Americas will be the team's 12th man!

Iraq will get a chance to deal with Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Sadio Mane. According to Arnold, it will be a group of excitement and group of opportunity for his players to whom he has told: Let's use our underdogs status to our advantage, go and shock the World.

Saudi Arabia
The matches leading to the World Cup have been anything but encouraging for the Arab nation. It has lost six matches - including a 4-0 thrashing by Egypt. A country where Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo plies his trade, Saudi Arabia beat Indonesia and got a draw result against Iraq to make the World Cup cut.

It has two more warm-up games against Puerto Rico and Senegal to sharpen its skills before taking the field against Uruguay, Spain and Cape Verde.

Saudi Arabia will be seen in action at the World Cup for the seventh time, and its best result has been the 2-1 win against Argentina in Qatar four years ago.

But as it transpired, Saudi Arabia found it difficult in the qualifying stage - it changed its coach from Roberto Mancini to Herve Renard, and the turnaround began.